


Travel Plans

by silkplants



Category: Hetalia: Axis Powers
Genre: Arthur Kirkland - Freeform, Hetalia, M/M, Soulmate AU, Soulmate Tattoos, UKUS, USUK - Freeform, alfred f jones - Freeform, aph
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-27
Updated: 2018-11-27
Packaged: 2019-09-01 13:13:06
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,715
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16765837
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/silkplants/pseuds/silkplants
Summary: Arthur plans to fly to France with long time crush and possible soulmate Francis, though he may never make it off the ground. Usuk. Soulmate au.





	Travel Plans

In a world where the soulmate stamp on your forearm could be anything, Arthur considered himself to be pretty damn lucky. Stamp images were limitless after all. They were simply a piece of black lineart that correlated in some way to how you met your soulmate. They could be of photorealistic or cartoonish. They could even depict something vulgar or lewd if that happened to be the situation.

Arthur had gotten a good one. His right forearm was decorated with a photorealistic image of the Eiffel Tower, and there was little less romantic than that. Especially when the man he had feelings for was french.

Francis had been in Arthur’s life since his early teens when he moved from France and into Arthur’s neighborhood. They’d fought and hated each other at first, but they were also the only two boys in the neighborhood the same age. As a result, there weren’t a lot of options when Arthur wanted to go somewhere and didn’t want to go alone. By the time they graduated, they could actually be described as friends. Though, Arthur found himself wanting more. He found himself attracted to caramel brown hair and blue eyes, and Francis had both. Was it a coincidence? He’d had these preferences long before he liked or even met Francis. He also liked glasses, and Francis didn’t wear those, but he didn’t expect his soulmate to fit all his preferences anyway.

He wished that he could see Francis’s stamp. He insisted on keeping it covered at all times, always wearing sleeves to hide it. Arthur had asked him in the past how he would know if he met and missed his soulmate, but Francis insisted that he would ‘just know.’ And that ‘he didn’t have to rely on some sticker to find someone he loved.’ Arthur didn’t understand it, but he let it be.

Now, years later at the ripe old age of twenty-six, Arthur still had these feelings. He’d never been good at expressing his emotions with words, so he’d never been able to quite articulate how he felt about Francis. But, maybe he wouldn’t have to. He and Francis both requested the last week of the month off work, as Francis had decided to invite him on a somewhat spontaneous trip to France. Francis mentioned something about being homesick, but as soon as the invitation left his lips, Arthur’s mind was elsewhere.

This was it! This was the time, it must be. Francis must have known they were soulmates the whole time and planned this trip to surprise him. He’d roll up his sleeve in Paris, in front of the tower- it would be such a romantic and sweet gesture. And Arthur was a sap for the romantic.

He’d agreed a bit too enthusiastically, but Francis seemed pleased to have him along.

Arthur packed for the trip. Sure, he wouldn’t be leaving for a little while, but he liked to be prepared. He went about picking out all of his nicest clothes so that he would look his best when the time came. Although Francis had been his friend for a while now, this would be a whole new type of first impression, and he wanted to set the bar. With his green plaid suitcase sitting up by the door, he texted Francis to see what day they wanted to book their flight.

But, when Francis replied, he told him not to purchase anything. Rather than just getting a room and transport like Arthur normally would, he wanted to go to the trouble of visiting a travel agency to plan tours and other such activities. Arthur preferred exploring a place’s history on his own instead of with a group, but, it was what Francis wanted to do, and if he insisted, Arthur would go along with it.

He met Francis outside the travel agency that Friday. He followed him inside, taking a moment to glance around at the posters of famous cities and travel destinations. His eye lingered on a poster depicting Hong Kong. That might be an interesting place to go. Francis elbowed him, nudging him towards a desk. Two chairs sat on their side, while one sat on the other. He presumed that that was where the agent was supposed to be, but thus far the seat was empty.

“I’ll be right with y’all, just a sec!” A cheery voice called from his right. Arthur looked over to find a man off to the side. He flashed him a beaming smile, and then went back to hanging up a poster of Dubai. “You can go ahead and sit down!”

Taking their agent’s suggestion, Arthur sat down in one of the chairs at the desk. It was a little cramped, especially with Francis sitting beside him, but then again the office wasn’t very big. It wasn’t impressive, either, and this agent seemed to be the only one who worked in the tiny building since there was only one desk and locker set up.

“Are you sure this is the place?” Arthur mumbled under his breath. “I mean, I hate to judge based on appearance, but..” He shrugged, and before Francis could reply, their agent sat down. “Alfred Jones! Nice to meet ya, both of you!” He reached out his hand, He gave Arthur a firm handshake, and then did the same for Francis.

Alfred, well…Alfred seemed nice. He kept glancing in Arthur’s direction, though Arthur wasn’t sure why. He had very pretty blue eyes, and brown hair a few shades darker than that of Francis. He wore a pair of tortoiseshell frames, and they suited him quite nicely.

“So! Y’all are headin’ off to France! Nice place, been there a couple times myself.” Alfred grinned, leaning back in his chair. “Okay, so, if you guys want to travel around the country, I won’t have any trouble puttin’ that together. Where do ya wanna go?”

Francis, of course, wanted to spend a day visiting with his grandparents in Annecy. But, other than that and Marseille he didn’t have a specific place he wanted to go. He just wanted to see as much as he could in a week. Arthur hadn’t ever been to France, so he didn’t know where he should go.

Arthur looked up at Alfred. “You said you’d been to France. Where do you suggest we go?”

At the question, Alfred beamed. “Ah, I guess this is kinda cliche, but you should totally go to Paris! I mean, people go to it for a reason, y’know? I mean, there’s lots to see! The food, the culture, and don’t forget the Eiffel Tower!” He chuckled, pulling up his shirt sleeve to show them both his stamp.

A photorealistic Eiffel Tower.

And then, as quick as he showed it off, he hid it again and began chatting about the wonderful Seine, and how interesting it was to go and see it. “For a while, it provided water to the Louvre, y’know!”

Arthur had gone pale, his eyes wide. He stared at the spot Alfred’s arm had been, even after he’d moved it. Francis cleared his throat to interrupt Alfred, who stopped talking long enough to notice that Arthur was most definitely not alright.

“Hey..you okay?” Alfred laughed awkwardly, waving a hand in front of Arthur’s face until his gaze snapped up. “You’ll be fine! Trips can be stressful! That’s what I’m here for!”

Arthur shook his head, and without a word, pulled back the sleeve of his sweater to show Alfred his matching stamp.

Alfred grew quiet, for a long moment. When he could find his voice, all he could manage to choke out was an ‘oh.’

Meeting Alfred’s eyes once again, Arthur felt his stomach tying itself in knots. “Oh,” Alfred repeated, and Arthur only relaxed when Alfred broke into a wide smile, reaching over the desk to give him a hug. Ordinarily, Arthur wouldn’t be as keen on such intimate contact, especially from someone he didn’t know. But this was…a special occasion. And it felt..nice.

“Ha, all the times I went to France, waitin’ in front of that goddamn tower!” Alfred laughed. “I took so much time off work to go and look for ya- all I had to do was wait here the whole time-!”

Arthur got to his feet, letting go of Alfred and waiting for him to come around the desk. He smiled, shyly, rubbing his arm. He couldn’t hold back a giggle as Alfred picked him up and spun him around. It was strange to see someone so overjoyed to see him. But it was also..sweet. Alfred was sweet.

“Oh, man, we have so much to talk about! As you can probably tell I’m from Texas, which is cool n’ all but I move around a lot, so…but anyway! Now that you’re here I know where to settle down, unless you wanna live someplace else! Oh, shoot, I’m sorry, we haven’t even gone on a date yet- How about next Friday?” He smiled at Arthur, wrapping an arm around his shoulders. “Oh, shit, wait, you’re supposed to be on your trip! I’ll still help ya plan it..if you’re still going.”

Arthur turned to Francis, rubbing the back of his neck. “Do you mind if I…?”

Francis sighed, then smiled and shook his head. “Not at all. Hope I’ll get lucky while I’m gone.” He tapped his forearm. “You have fun.” He got to his feet and went to the door. “I’ll come back to plan this another time. You two should have some space.” He waved. “Adieu, Arthur! Congratulations!”

Arthur nodded, smiling and scrunching his nose as Alfred pressed a kiss to his cheek.

Alfred waved to Francis. “Later! I promise I’ll plan ya the greatest trip of your life- thanks!” As Francis walked out the door, Arthur turned to Alfred, giving him a fond smile.

Alfred wasn’t who he wanted, no. But already Arthur could tell that he was sweet and kind, not to mention cheerful and charming. Alfred looked at him with a level of adoration Arthur had never seen, and he knew he was making the exact same expression.

No. Alfred wasn’t who he’d wanted. But he was what Arthur needed, and he was looking forward to getting to know him.


End file.
